


A Paw Full of Troubles

by Forever_Sweet



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Kitty Bill is adorable and vicious, This will slowly spiral out of control.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-17 06:48:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4656762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forever_Sweet/pseuds/Forever_Sweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An accidental spell turns Bill into a cat. He’s trying to look on the bright side at least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bill supposed there were worse things in life to be other than a cat. He could have ended up as a dung beetle or a fish. At least as a cat Pine Tree couldn’t squish him or leave him flopping about helplessly.

The downside was that Shooting Star wouldn’t let go of him. She just kept cooing and when he was ready to shred her face, she would scratch that sweet spot behind his ear and he was left helpless. Curse his new feline body for having such an obvious weakness.

“Mabel! What are you doing?”

“Petting him, Dipdop.”

“That’s Bill, Mabel! He’s literally a demon!” Bill found it amusing that Pine Tree looked ready to tear his hair out. Even more so when Bill purred and nuzzled Shooting Star’s hand affectionately.

“But he’s so cute! Can we keep him?”

“Are you insane!?” Bill had to agree with the kid, Shooting Star must have been nuts.

“If he wanted to hurt us, he would have already, bro-bro! Besides, whatever magical thingy you did turned him into a cute kitty!” She squealed and squashed Bill uncomfortably against her chest. The demon kitty flailed slightly as he struggled to breathe against the large ballooned flesh that females grew from their chests.

Shooting Star finally noticed his distress and relaxed her grip slightly. Bill popped his head up and panted for air as he glared up at her grinning face. At least now Bill knew that he needed to pay attention to the limitations of his body.

“Cute or not, he still has claws and could tear our eyes out!” Pine Tree did have a point and Bill made a show of flexing his claws against the soft fabric of Mabel’s sweater.

“We could declaw him?” He felt his ears flick back in distaste and his head swiveled around to look at Pine Tree. The kid looked contemplating as he glared at Bill, the kitty demon glaring back annoyed.

“If we get him declawed, I’ll look after him!” Bill could see Pine Tree’s resolve to get rid of him crumbling. Shooting Star seemed to notice it too as she grinned widely and unconsciously stroked Bill’s head.

“Besides, this is a great opportunity to keep an eye on him and study him!” That did it and Pine Tree was running a hand under his hat while shaking his head.

“Fine, but I better not find any yellow cat hair near my stuff.” Shooting Star saluted him before smiling down at Bill.

“Not so much a big bad demon anymore are ya?” Her teasing was met with the fierceness of Bill’s claws digging through her sweater and into skin. Her yelp and screams for Dipper to get the career were satisfying and he dug his claws in further.

Then Pine Tree was prying at one of his paws and Bill saw an opportunity; he lunged forward and bit the hand. Although the not-so-manly squeak was amusing, the blood flowing into his mouth was far more satisfying. That is until Pine Tree pulled his hand away quickly and one of Shooting Star’s hands came up to smack him on the nose.

Taking offense he tried to bite at her fingers, but she was fast enough to avoid the snap. Then her other hand came up and clamped down on Bill’s head to keep his mouth closed.

“Dipper, quick!” Pine Tree’s bleeding hand reappeared and it carefully pulled Bill’s claws out of Mabel’s skin. Once his claws were free, Bill slashed out at Pine Tree’s already injured hand. Pine Tree unlike his sister was not fast enough and Bill’s claws easily sliced through the skin.

“Fuck!” Pulling away his bleeding hand, Pine Tree glared at Bill. Purring Bill stuck his claws back into a different position on Mabel’s arm.

There was blood starting to leak through the sweater and Bill was enjoying the brief chaos. That is until Shooting Star got wise and pulled her sweater off. Bill was forced to unlatch his claws from her skin as he became entangled completely in the sweater.

Finally Pine Tree must have found the cage that Shooting Star has spoken of because Bill was thrown into it, sweater and all. There was a loud click just before Bill finally got his head free of the sweater. Glaring at the metallic bars, Bill pulled the rest of his body from the bloody sweater and got closer to the cage door.

“He’s a monster! Mabel are you okay!?” Bill felt pleased at the deep scratches decorating Shooting Star’s arms that bled sluggishly. Even more so as Pine Tree flung blood from his hand around with his wide arm movements.

“Yeah, no problem bro-bro! Just a few minor scratches!” Shooting Star didn’t seem fazed in the least bit and Bill felt the urge to pout.

“Fuck, my hand is killing me…” Pine Tree threw a glare at Bill and in response the cat licked one blood soaked paw delicately. It had the desired affect as Pine Tree’s nose scrunched up and he turned back to his sister with disgust.

“We should probably clean that bro-bro.”

“Yeah, no telling what kind of diseases a cat demon could give me….” Bill felt his ears fold back and the offended look on his face must have showed because Pine Tree stuck his tongue out.

“Oh my gosh! You are fighting with a cat bro-bro!”

“I-I’m not! I’m fighting with Bill!” Pine Tree’s face was amusing as it turned bright red just before the twins disappeared up the stairs.

Settling back on top of the sweater, Bill snickered and was delighted to find the sound in his own demonic voice.

“Oh, this is going to be fun~!” He purred and started washing his paws in the manner that he had seen other mortal cats do. Only nicking his tongue twice with his claws as he giggled at the prospect of messing with the Pines twins.

~OwO~

It made perfect sense to him why other animals despised the humans known as vets. Their offices truly were the place of nightmares and Bill was still groggy from his visit. His paws smarting any time he moved them slightly.

At least the Pines children had been merciful, avoiding something called the crunch method in favor of surgical removal.

Currently he was laying on the sweater that Shooting Star had left in the cage for him. The scent of blood and distress covering the sweater were soothing as Bill kept drifting off. Though he was always brought out of his near sleep by the constant giggles.

Apparently Shooting Star was having the human ritual of a sleep-over and Pine Tree was no where in sight. Bill understood though because it was impossible to get any sleep with the four female humans laughing.

Whatever had been holding their interest seemed to wear off though as the sheet that had been thrown over his cage was lifted away. Scrunching himself near the back of the cage, Bill tried to cover his eye from the light.

“So this is the fearsome demon?”

“But he’s so…fluffy.”

“What’s wrong with him?” The cage door was opened, but Bill was too tired for another attempt at escaping. Though he did meow in protest as he was lifted out by large hands.

“Careful with his paws, he just had surgery. I guess he’s still sluggish from the drugs?” The large hands turned him around to examine him and Bill wished that someone besides the Monster had picked him up.

Meowing again, Bill hoped that the females would soon get tired of him and leave him to try and sleep in peace. No such luck though as he was passed to the small fork woman, her hands running over his sides and pulling at his ears. Hissing, he shook his head in annoyance and glared over at Shooting Star.

“Candy, don’t pull at his ears! You’ve got to treat him like a real kitty!”

“Sorry, it is just so fascinating.” Bill was passed again and he was placed in Blondie’s stiff lap. She didn’t touch him, just stared down at him like he was still the full fledged demon he wanted to be. It made him pleased and he carefully curled up until he was comfortable.

“Aw, Pacifica! He loves you!” Bill loved the scent of fear curling off of her, even as she tried to keep a straight face. Apparently she still remembered the incident from three years ago when he had left a bloody message on her ceiling.

“Uh…sure Mabel…” When Bill met Blondie’s eyes and curled his mouth into a smile, the fear coming off of her spiked. Pleased with his accomplishment, he settled back down and closed his eyes to better enjoy the scent of fear.

Sadly that came to an end as Shooting Star pulled him off Blondie’s lap. Ignoring the meow of protest she cradled him in her arms and stroked his head. It was almost disgusting the lack of fear that she had of him despite all of the near death experiences he had given her.

“He’s harmless, scout’s honor~!” Bill wanted to protest that he wasn’t harmless, but he kept his trap shut as he didn’t want the Pines to know quite yet that he could speak.

“Harmless? Mabel, I’ve seen the bandages your brother has on his hand and I know the bandages around your arms are likely due to that cat!” He had to give her credit, Blondie was pretty perceptive.

“That was before we got him declawed! Now look at him, so pliant like a kitten!” Shooting Star scratched behind his ears and the purring started up. Monster and Fork-Girl awed and cooed, but Blondie still looked at him warily.

“What does your brother say about you keeping a demonic cat?”

“Dipper? Pfft, he’s a big softie, he knows he loves Bill’s little paws!” Bill snorted softly because he doubted that Pine Tree liked any part of him.

“I’m just saying that this is a little reckless, Mabel…” Blondie said it sternly while crossing her arms over his chest. With a quick glance up at Shooting Star’s face, Bill could confirm that she was still grinning, but her grip around him had tightened.

“You worry too much you silly-butt!” Shooting Star waved off Blondie’s concern and carefully deposited Bill back into his cage. Sighing in relief, Bill slinked back to his sweater and flopped onto it.

The females had finally become disinterested in him and had moved topics. Their voices were still ridiculously loud for such a small space, but Bill’s exhaustion finally got the best of him.

Falling asleep he was back in the mindscape and free to move around there until the body was woken up.

~OwO~

It took a few weeks and a few hours of bribing Pine Tree, but Shooting Star had finally gotten Bill rights to move around the shack.

His first steps out of the cage were a bit wobbly, but his paws were completely healed and the steps got more confident as he trotted around the attic. Both of the twins had their eyes glued to him, Shooting Star in excitement and Pine Tree with suspicion.

Of course the two of them had been so busy with him that they had neglected to shut the attic door all the way. Once Bill was confident with his walking on all four paws, he streaked to the door and threw it open easily.

He was out the door and down the stairs before Pine Tree had jumped to his feet. He went straight for back door in the kitchen, but his escape was stopped in its tracks as callused hands scooped him up. Meowing in surprise, he recovered quickly and glared up into the face of Stan Pines.

The twins came skidding into the kitchen as Stan stroked behind Bill’s ears and he reluctantly purred. Knowing when he had been beat, he tucked in his front paws and let Stan keep petting him.

“So. Is there something you two would like to tell me?” Stan asked gruffly as he sat down at the table. Setting Bill in his lap, the cat demon had the perfect view of the guilty looks on their faces.

“Uh…Grunkle Stan! We adopted a cat!” Shooting Star did jazz hands while saying it, though she also averted her eyes and giggled nervously.

“When were you planning to tell me?”

“Um…next Wednesday…Friday maybe…?”

“Mabel.”

“Never…” Pine Tree groaned and shoved at Shooting Star’s shoulder as his sister shrugged at him.

“I take it this little cretin was behind the bandages?” Neither twin answered him, but Stan didn’t need a verbal confirmation.

“Where did you two even get a cat? Let alone a yellow cat.” Bill perked up, excited at hearing what explanation the twins would come up with. Dipper was the first one to speak, covering his sister’s mouth before she had a chance.

“We found him in the forest.”

“The forest? Dipper, you of all people should know how dangerous that place is.” Stan was now staring suspiciously at him and Bill attempted to look innocent.

“He’s fine Grunkle Stan! We got him all declawed and stuff too!” Shooting Star made some kind of ridiculous noise with her mouth after she pushed Pine Tree’s hand away.

“You two sure you know what you are doing?” Bill could see the tick in Pine Tree’s eye and the way he stiffened. The old man really knew how to push his great nephew’s buttons.

“We’ve got everything under control, Stan. Why can’t you just believe in us for once?” Distress rolled off of Pine Tree and Bill was liking where this conversation was going.

“Dipper, you know I didn’t mean it like that. I just…you two are pretty reckless sometimes and I don’t want you getting hurt.” Now Shooting Star was giving off a faint scent of anger, her hands wringing her sweater. If Bill had to guess, she was getting tired of hearing that word by now.

“We’re fine! You worry too much!” Coming around the table she practically jabbed Stan’s eye out with a ‘friendly’ poke.

Stan was rubbing his face and said nothing when Shooting Star scooped up Bill. The twins left the room before their Grunkle could do anything else.

Once they were in their room, Shooting Star blew out a loud breath and flopped back onto her bed. Bill still tucked safely in her arms and purring at the amount of anger flowing off of

her.

“I can’t believe that he would say something like that!”

“I can, it’s Stan.”

“But, ugh! He’s supposed to support us and all that junk! Why can’t he just….”

“Trust us?”

“Yeah!” It was a touch ironic that the twins wanted honesty out of their Grunkle when they were lying to him about harboring a cat demon.

Shooting Star dropped Bill onto her face and nuzzled his stomach with a groan. There was no complaint from him though as he pretended he was slowly suffocating her to death.

His fantasy was interrupted though when Pine Tree picked him up. Hissing loudly, Bill struggled and snapped at Pine Tree’s hands. The mortal sadly ignored him and shoved him back into the cage closing it with a click.

“And don’t even think that you’re ever getting out of there again! Stupid demon…” Glaring through his cage bars, Bill reluctantly went back to laying down on his sweater.

He swore when Pine Tree let his guard down, Bill was going to eliminate him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a minor wrinkle in Bill’s plans, but he’s quick on his paws.

Pine Tree had been reluctant at first, but under Shooting Star’s relentless pleading face he finally released Bill from his cage. Instead of rushing off like he did last time, Bill took his time exploring the attic.  

Shooting Star’s side of the room was far too bright and shiny. So, Bill kept to Pine Tree’s side because it was more amusing, that and Pine Tree didn’t like him near his personal items.

Hopping up onto Pine Tree’s bed, Bill made himself comfortable and studied the twins sitting on Mabel’s bed. They were watching him too and when he tilted his head to the side, their heads followed the motion.

“Hey, bro-bro? Do you think he is still Bill Cipher?”

“What do you mean, Mabel?” Ears perking up, Bill stared at Shooting Star in a way he hoped looked encouraging.

“Well, he doesn’t talk and for the most part he seems to act like a normal cat….” Bill made a show of washing one of his paws and swiping it behind his ear. Shooting Star made a soft noise as she squished her own cheeks.

“I’m…not sure. We could ask him?”

“Woah! Great idea, bro-bro!” Shooting Star bounced off of her bed and came to flop down next to Bill. Kicking her legs up in the air she placed her head in her hands and grinned widely at him.

“One blink for no, two blinks for yes!” Deciding to humor her, Bill gave two slow blinks and returned to washing behind his ears. He could hear Pine Tree groaning under his breath from across the room.

“So, are you still Bill inside that fluffy body?” Bill blinked once at her, then twice. The confusion and doubt was beginning to roll off of Shooting Star and Bill wanted nothing more than to roll in it like it was catnip.

“Ooookay, do you want to destroy us?” Telling a truth was a virtue and Bill blinked twice before rolling onto his back. Shooting Star squealed and immediately started stroking his belly, deciding to leave her hands be for the moment he purred contently.

“Hm. How about the journal?” An ear twitched at the mention of the stupid book, but he kept his eyes carefully open and staring at Mabel wide-eyed.

“Mabel, if he’s just a normal cat now, then he won’t understand what your saying.” Pine Tree did have a point, so maybe Bill wouldn’t destroy him first chance he got after all.

“Maybe he really is a kitty then, Dipper!”

“Good, one less pain in the ass.” He resented that comment, but just kept purring. He was biding his time after all.

~OwO~

It took a few days for the twins to figure out that Bill no longer had any desire to escape and he was free to roam the shack. Occasionally he would cause a little trouble here and there, just normal things that cats would do. Like knocking glasses off of tables and leaving dead animals in Pine Tree’s bed.

Of course he was still locked up in his cage during the night. Since neither of the twins trusted him, even if they were slowly being convinced that he was a normal cat. So, for the time being he kept up the cat routine; only breaking character a few times to roll his eyes or glare at Pine Tree.

It wasn’t the most glamorous existence, but if Bill wanted his plan to succeed then he needed to keep doing it. Plus he really did love attention and the tourists were more than happy to pay it to him. And occasionally to Stan when the old man would use Bill as a display in his tourist trap.

Two weeks later, Bill’s time finally came. The twins were getting ready for bed, and instead of Pine Tree picking him up and shoving him in the cage. He ignored Bill and got into bed, rolling over so he didn’t have to face the cat demon.

“Nighty, night, Bill!” Shooting Star crowed before she turned off the light and laid in her own bed.

It had finally happened. Bill was being allowed free access to the whole shack while everyone was asleep and with no supervision.

Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Bill pushed open the attic door and trotted downstairs. From there it wasn’t hard to break into Stan’s office, though it took a few minutes for him to operate the door knob with his paws.

Hopping onto the desk, Bill nosed the top drawer open and pulled a small book out with his teeth. Careful not to slice through the old leather as he set it down in front of him. Flipping it open with his paws, Bill looked through the pages until he found the one he was looking for.

Spells on transformation and the reversal of such were annoying and complicated magic. So, it was surprising that Pine Tree and Shooting Star had figured out the spells so quickly. Even if there were some minor problems that had left Bill with his demon brain intact.

Reading over the page, he growled with annoyance at the end and ran his paws down his face. The book stated that the only way to reverse a transformation spell was either by someone with a ton of magic, or by the person/people who did it in the first place and by reversing the original spell.

It turned out that Bill’s plan to get back to normal was going to take a little longer than he had been hoping.

Now he was left with a difficult question: would it be easier to get the twins to reverse it? Or find someone new and train them up to be powerful enough to reverse it for him?

Training someone could take months, maybe even years and Bill wasn’t that keen on spending more time than he had to in the weak cat body.

Which left the only option of getting the twins to reverse the spell.

Putting the book back in its place in Stan’s desk, Bill hoped down from the desk and quietly left Stan’s office. Pushing the door shut with his paws just as Stan’s foot steps rounded the corner.

Dropping down from the door, Bill turned and faced Stan with the cutest cat face he could muster.

“Hey cat. Aren’t you supposed to be in your cage?” Stan wasted no time in picking up Bill and carrying him to the living room. The old man settling into his chair with Bill curled up in his lap.

“Guess Dipper finally got the stick out of his ass and let you roam free, huh?” Scratching behind his ears, Bill purred loudly in response.

At first he had been worried with the twins on whether or not Stan would figure out who he really was. However, that fear had faded after the first few days of Stan just treating him like a normal cat, even when neither of the twins were around.

“I’m still keeping an eye out for you though. If the kids really did find you in the forest, then I’m not going to just let some monster cat roam through-out the house. Got it?” Standing up, Stan quietly walked up the stairs with Bill in tow. The cat demon doing nothing as the old man descended the stairs.

“For the time being you’re going to stay in their room for the night. Got it?” Purring loudly, Stan took that as Bill’s yes and deposited him into the twin’s room. He gave Bill one last stern look before he left and closed the door behind him.

Bill wasn’t concerned though, since he had already gotten what he had wanted. Hopping up onto Pine Tree’s bed, Bill made himself comfortable on the kid’s chest and drifted off to sleep.

~OwO~

Bill was flipping through one of those terrible novels that Shooting Star usually read. Finding amusement in the bad sex and the many consensual problems that caused issues through-out the book.

Then he heard the attic door open and was forced to abandon his page to instead sit on the book. The twins stumbled through the door, supporting each other as they limped to the middle of the room and collapsed.

Seeing as neither of the kids looked like they were going to get up, Bill hopped off of the book and closed the door. The twins weren’t paying attention to him though as Pine Tree pulled their huge first-aid kit out from under his bed.

“Ugh, Dippppppper! Everything hurts!” Shooting Star whined and shook her brother’s arm.

“Hold on a second, Mabel! I’m trying to make sure that we have enough cleaning supplies!” Pine Tree pulled out a small foul smelling bottle and a few bandages. First working on cleaning the large cuts and scraps decorating Shooting Star’s legs.

“I can’t believe there was a sphinx hiding in the old gnome tree stump! Who would have thunk it, huh?”

“Stupid gnomes, not giving us enough information before sending us in there to clean up their mess.” Pine Tree mumbled as he finished putting on the last band-aid. Gingerly he moved some of the blood crusted hair away from Shooting Star’s forehead to reveal a large gash.

“Ouch, careful bro-bro.” Rolling his eyes, Pine Tree carefully cleaned out the cut and wrapped up the wounds with some gauze.

“Look, Dipper! I’m a mummy!” Lifting her arms, Shooting Star made groaning sounds for show. It had the desired effect as Pine Tree was soon cracking up, having to take a few seconds to calm down before getting to work on his own wounds.

Bill watched silently as the two chattered about their latest adventure and how close the claws of that sphinx had come to taking Shooting Star’s head off. Honestly he was a little baffled by the two of them, most humans would be a pile of goo on the floor after an experience like that.

Maybe he really would keep them around after he had the apocalypse going. It would be pretty entertaining to see them try to battle the creatures he would set loose.

“Hey, kids! You up here? What the hell happened to you two!?” Of course there was Stan to ruin any and all fun. Both of the twins quieted down as all of the Pines stared at each other.

“Uh…Well you see….” The two of the launched into the story of their adventure. Stan sitting on Shooting Star’s bed silently listening to the two of them, a look on his face that even Bill couldn’t read.

After they were finished, Stan blew out a breath and rested his face in his hands. This perked Bill’s interest and he sat back on Pine Tree’s bed to watch the explosion. Everything was going exactly how he wanted it to.

“I can’t believe you two not only trusted the word of a gnome, but also went on a mission without knowing the full details of it! Do you know how irresponsible and reckless that is!?”

“But Grunkle Stan-”

“No, Mabel! You two have endangered yourselves enough for this summer! No more crazy adventures or I am taking the journal and you two are going home right now!” Everyone was silent and the tension was practically palpable in the room. Bill could feel that everyone was on the verge of snapping, and he wondered who would do it first.

It turned out it was Pine Tree, who stood up with his hands balled into fists. Face red with anger or embarrassment, Bill didn’t care which one. He marched over to Stan and got into the old man’s face before he unleashed his fury.

“WE’RE NOT TWELVE ANYMORE STAN! WE’RE ADULTS NOW AND WE’RE TIRED OF YOU LECTURING US LIKE WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE’RE DOING!” The understanding of humans wanting a salty snack during a fight made rational sense to Bill as he watched the other male Pines member get fired up.

“I wouldn’t have to treat you two like children if you didn’t act like it all the time! When are the two of you going to grow up?!”

“Maybe we don’t want to grow up and be boring like you! We want to have fun, do things, and learn all the cool secrets that are hiding out there in the woods! Why can’t you just trust us for once?!”

Bill practically purred with delight when Shooting Star got in on the screaming match as well. Tears building up in her eyes as she went to stand next to her twin, the two of them vibrating with fury.

“Trust you!? I can’t even trust you two to go out into town without hurting yourselves! And you want me to treat you like adults!?” Oooo, Bill liked where this was going.

“You can’t boss us around anymore! We are adults!”

“Not here you’re not! While you’re under my roof, you live under my rules and from here on out, no more supernatural hunts!”

“We’re not going to stop just because you’re scared of a few scratches!”

“Scratches?! Dipper have you looked at your sister?! She’s got gauze wrapped around her head! You’ve got bandages littering your whole body, how is that just a few scratches?! I just want you two to be safe!”

“We are safe! We know what we’re doing!”

“You’re not! You two are the most reckless children I’ve ever seen and I’m putting an end to it now! Pack your bags, your leaving Gravity Falls in the morning!” That was the end of the conversation as Stan pushed his way through the twins and stomped down the stairs.

Surprisingly Shooting Star was the first one to explode, screaming as she picked up the lamp and threw it through the window.

“WHY CAN’T HE JUST TRUST US!?” Then all of the energy seemed to be sapped from her and she crumbled onto the floor. Burying her face into her legs and heaving a great sob of defeat.

Pine Tree, however, was full of life and was pacing the room. Bill could still smell the anger that was pouring off of him in waves; and he could see the little mice running in his brain, trying to work through the problem.

“He can’t do this, Mabel! We’re not going to leave Gravity Falls without a fight!”

“But, Dipper! What are we supposed to do?!”

“I don’t know! But we’ll figure out something! We have to…” Pine Tree finally stopped in front of his sister and collapsed onto the floor next to her.

The two of them shared a look before wrapping each other in one of those sentimental whole body touches.

Bill thought now was a perfect time to put his plan in motion. Straightening up, he jumped off of Pine Tree’s bed and sauntered over to where the twins were hugging.

“Oh, I think I know a way.” Both twins stiffened and broke apart to stare at him wide-eyed.

“Hows about we make us a deal, kids?” They were listening as the words of their grunkle’s betrayal hung in the air. Now was the perfect time to set his plan in motion.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill has a chat with the twins.

It took the twins a few minutes to snap out of their shock; and as expected Pine Tree tried to make a lunge for him. Familiar blue fire bloomed from his paws and the sight of it made Pine Tree leap away.

Settling back down on his haunches, Bill extinguished the fire and licked a paw. The Pines turned away from Bill and whispered their discussion. Occasionally Pine Tree’s voice would raise with a few choice words, but always he quieted again when Shooting Star talked.

Bill had no idea what they were saying and he didn’t particularly care since he already knew what their discussion was about. Just like he knew that they would hear him out either way.

Finally they came to an agreement and turned back to Bill. Pine Tree leveling a glare at Bill as if the expression could light him on fire.

“What do you want, Bill?”

“I want a lot of things, kid. But right now this isn’t about what I want. It’s about what you two want.” The twins looked at each other doubtfully before Shooting Star spoke up again.

“We want to stay in Gravity Falls….” It was more of a whisper and if Bill wasn’t looking for that answer, he might of missed it entirely.

“We can find a way to stay on our own. So, we don’t need to make a deal with you!” Standing up and stretching, Bill padded over to the twins and sat in front of them. Purring in amusement, he set a paw on Pine Tree’s leg, enjoying how it tensed under his pads.

“Of course you are Pine Tree. There is no other way for you to stay. Stan is going to send you away and make sure that you can never come back.” Pine Tree was keeping a stern face, but Bill could see his will beginning to crumble.

“You two really have grown up well. It’s a shame that not everyone can appreciate how wise you’ve gotten. Stan certaintly never will, he’ll always see you two as the twelve year olds that just came off the bus.” Pulling his paw away from Pine Tree’s leg, he enjoyed the view of seeing his resolve crumble completely.

“There’s really nothing we can do to stay…?” Shooting Star’s voice was so pathetic and cute, if Bill actually cared about her, he might have felt bad.

“He is a stubborn old man. He’ll have the tickets ready when he wakes you up tomorrow and after you get on the bus he’ll phone your parents.” Bill had almost finished sowing his seeds when Shooting Star sniffled and fresh tears poured out of her eyes.

“I can fix that though. You won’t have to leave and Stan will stop treating you like the children we all know you aren’t. You’ll finally get the respect you deserve.” Pine Tree chewed on his lip as if he was still thinking about it, but he had already made up his mind; he craved recognition as much as Bill craved power.

“What’s the deal?”

“You get me out of this body-”

“It was an accident we even got you into it!”

“Pine Tree, all you have to do is follow my instructions on that and it’ll be a piece of cake.” Wisely Pine Tree said nothing else and waited for Bill to finish.

“In exchange I will help you keep Stan from sending you off while we are work on getting me out of this body. Once I am out, I will fix the problem completely. Sound good?” Both of the twins stared at each other as they mulled over their individual thoughts.

“Do we have a deal?” Pine Tree looked ready to say something else, but Shooting Star beat him to it by grabbing Bill’s fire covered paw.

“Deal.” The fire flickered intensely for a second and a small triangle was burned into Shooting Star’s palm.

Pine Tree still looked uneasy, but Bill knew he would take the deal anyway. After all he couldn’t let his twin go into a deal with a dangerous demon alone.

“Deal…” The contract was sealed as soon as Pine Tree took his paw and a burned triangle appeared on his palm as well.

Settling back down Bill waited patiently for the tension to melt out of the other two. Once he was sure they were ready, he settled himself down for a long explanation.

“Pine Tree, we’ll need your journal. No, I don’t ever have to touch it.” The look of suspicion melted away and Pine Tree went off to do as he was told.

“Shooting Star I hope you are ready to put your crafting ability to the test, because we only have one night to pull this off.”

“I’m ready.”

“Great! Now, Shooting Star you get your supplies and Pine Tree supervise her so every detail is perfect. While you are doing that, I’ll be running over your lines for tomorrow. Everything has to be perfect if this is going to work and you two have to follow my instructions exactly.”

Both of the twins were listening patiently as Bill explained his plan. They both had a complaint here and there, but neither argued with him and both were ready to listen to whatever he had to say.

Bill’s plan started now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The play goes off without a hit and the search for the cure begins.

Bill was laying on Shooting Star’s bed when the attic door banged open and Stan came in with a sour expression. The ruckus woke the twins and they were alert when Stan cleared his throat.

“Get packed, you leave in two hours.” He said it gruffly and his tone held no room for argument, but Bill could smell the remorse pouring off of the old man. He really was doing what he thought was the best for them. It made Bill pity him.

“Grunkle Stan…we don’t want to leave….” The tears making their way down Shooting Star’s cheeks were very real, the anxiety over the plan and Stan trying to make them leave was getting to the poor girl.

Stan already looked ready to fold like the old softy he was. However, he believed sending away the twins  was for the best and he looked determined to stick to it no matter what.

“I know Sweetie, but I can’t have you two getting hurt on my watch. Please understand that this is for your own good, you can’t handle everything that goes on here. It’s too dangerous!” Stan’s resolve hardened even as his stance slackened with grief. Sheesh he really did love these two childish mortals.

“Grunkle Stan, come on we won’t get hurt…” Bill’s ears shot upwards and he glared over at Pine Tree. If this was going to work than he needed to stay on script, honestly this kid was going to be the death of him if he kept it up with the improvised lines.

“You will, you just don’t realize!” Pine Tree looked ready to fire back a scathing comment, but one look over at Bill made him swallow his pride. Instead of puffing up in anger he slumped over and stared at his hands. Yeesh, the kid was scary good at faking remorse.

“What if we promise to stay away…?”

“Like I’m going to fall for that again, Dipper. Last time you made a promise to stop you got everyone into even worse trouble.” Stan was trying to be kind even as his words cut deep; and Pine Tree looked like he was having a hard time biting his tongue.

Bill felt worry for a fraction of a second when Pine Tree’s fingers clenched the sheets. It faded quickly though when Pine Tree sighed and the tension floated out of his body. It was amazing what humans were willing to swallow back when they wanted their way.

“What if we burned the journal!?” Shooting Star’s voice was frantic and Bill would have purred with delight if he had wanted to call attention to himself. But for this he needed to keep himself the furthest thing from Stan’s thoughts.

“Mabel! No!”

“Dipper, I don’t want to leave! We have friends here!” More tears flowed down Shooting Star’s cheeks as her eyes pleaded with Pine Tree

“But Mabel…what about out adventures…?” All the anger was sucked from the room, even Stan was beginning to wobble.

“Dipper, we’ve had lots of adventures, but we only have one grunkle…”

“Mabel…” Stan said it so softly that only Bill had a chance to hear it as the twins carried on with the show.

Pine Tree pulled the journal out from under his pillow and stared at the cover for a long time. Finally he swallowed audibly and dug into his pocket for his lighter. Taking a deep breath he set the journal on fire and watched it burn. Once most of it was engulfed in flames, Pine Tree dropped it on the floor and stomped on it.

Wiping away the stray tears at the corner of his eyes, Pine Tree leveled his gaze to Stan. Stan was speechless as he stared at the ash that was once a book. Finally he looked at each twin in turn, Pine Tree scrubbing away tears and Shooting Star with them flowing freely down her cheeks.

“Kids… I’m so sorry.” The devastation on both of the twins faces was real when Stan took out the bus tickets, but it quickly morphed to confusion as Stan tore them apart.

“Come here. I just wanted to keep you two safe, can you ever forgive your grunkle?” Shooting Star launched herself at Stan and clung to him tightly. Pine Tree hesitated for a second before joining them and the three members of the Pines family were crying.

“Of course we can Grunkle Stan…” Pine Tree’s response was muffled against Stan’s suit, but Bill could tell he was getting choked up.

Finally the three of them separated and Stan awkwardly wiped away his tears. Clearing his throat he told the twins to get ready for work and that he would see them in gift shop.

Before he left though Shooting Star pulled him into a tight brief hug and he wiped away her tears.

“We’re sorry Grunkle Stan.”

“Don’t be Sweetie, we all said things we shouldn’t have last night and I’m pretty proud of you kids. You’re going to become great adults.” Then Stan left and Shooting Star went to sit down next to her brother on his bed.

“Nice work everybody!” Bill congratulated them as he cleaned behind his ear with a paw. Neither of the twins looked to be in a celebrating mood though as Shooting Star pulled the real journal out from under Pine Tree’s mattress.

“Do you think we did the right thing lying to Grunkle Stan like that, Dipper…?” Pine Tree leaned against his sister and they both stared at the cover of the journal.

“I have no idea.”

~OwO~

Getting him out of the body was taking longer than Bill had anticipated. It turned out that Pine Tree had been messing around with no less than thirty spells that day. Anyone of them in any combination could have turned Bill into a cat.

So, the first thing they had to do was figure out which spell it was and turn a rat into a cat. The first three spell combinations had them buying a new rat and Bill thanking his lucky stars that he hadn’t been hit with them.

Every day one of the twins had a day off they would sit up in the attic with Bill and work with the spells. Three weeks had disappeared in the blink of an eye and Bill was finding himself pacing the floor in frustration.

It was Shooting Star’s day off and she was knitting a little sweater for Bill while they were taking a break.

“I’m sure we’ll find something today, Bill.”

“We’re running out of time Shooting Star. The end of summer is approaching and we need to get this done before then.”

“I know you’re anxious, but we’re working as fast as we can.” Shooting Star really must have gotten used to his presence because she shrugged off his frustration easily. It made Bill both more increasingly frustrated and fond of her at the same time.

“Break time is over, let’s get back to work.” They worked hard the rest of that day, but still didn’t find what they were looking for.

It would be another week before they did finally find the right spell combination.

Bill was dozing on Shooting Star’s back as the twins laid out on the floor and reviewed their notes. The two of them having the rare day off together. Then he felt her back muscles stiffen: the only warning he got before he was flung off as she sat upright with a cry of victory.

“I found it!” Both twins scrambled to test the spell combination out on the rat as Bill laid on his back near the wall. Dazed from having been thrown so abruptly out of his near nap.

“It worked, Mabel you’re a genius!” The twins were hugging and Bill righted himself as he peered at the inside of the cage. The black and white rat was now a black and white cat and was squeaking its confusion loudly.

“Don’t celebrate too early you two! We still need to find out the way to reverse it first!” Bill’s words only killed the enthusiasm in the room a little bit as the twins chattered excitedly between each other. Bill was one step closer.

~OwO~

Two days was a relatively short amount of time for them to find the reverse to the spell, when compared to how long it took to find the original spell. The rat was happily snoring in its food dish as a rat again and Shooting Star was cooing about it being soft while she pet its head.

Pine Tree on the other hand was looking the spell over for any mistakes and reviewing the ingredients that they would need. This was one of those moments where Bill could appreciate Pine Tree’s thoroughness, even if he did like the chaos Shooting Star created more.

“It’s done. We just need to swing by the store tomorrow and pick up the supplies. Then you’ll be out of that body and we can finish the deal. Then you can get out of our lives for good.”

“Aw, Pine Tree, I’m hurt.” Despite his teasing words, Bill couldn’t help but echo Pine Tree’s sentiment. He was tired of being confined to a body of flesh with weaknesses and was ready to get back to the mindscape for good.

“I’m going to miss dressing you up in cute little clothes!” Bill definitely wasn’t going to miss that at all.

“I’m not with your fashion sense, Shooting Star.”

“Hey!” He meowed in indigence as she pushed him off the bed, though he didn’t stay offended long when he saw Shooting Star giggling. Pushing himself back up to his paws, Bill was beginning to doubt his own resolve to go through with his original plan. The twin were pretty amusing and he wouldn’t mind having them as enemies during the apocalypse.

Maybe even allies if he played his cards right in the future.

So, in that quick moment between Shooting Star laughing and himself pouncing on her, Bill decided that he wasn’t going to kill them. He was still going to break them though.

Served them right for turning him into a cat in the first place.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The spell is done and now it is Bill’s turn to finish his side of the deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for gore, animal torture, and major character death.

Bill was trying to keep himself from bouncing around the twins feet as they prepared the spell to release him from his fleshy prison. He was just so excited to be free and to finish up his end of the deal. It really was going to knock their socks off and they were going to regret turning him into a cat.

“Okay, you ready, Bill?”

“Pine Tree, I’ve been ready since I got into this annoying flesh suit!”

“That’s a really gross way of putting it, Bill…” Shooting Star made a gagging face and stuck her tongue out at him. Sticking his tongue back at her, Bill settled himself in the middle of the circle and waited for them to begin.

Shooting Star’s Latin was surprisingly fluid as she spoke with confidence and little concern for mistakes. Pine Tree however was slower and more cautious in speaking his words as he read over his portion of the spell. When they had both finished the circle glowed green and illuminated the dimly lit room.

“Bill, we are really sorry that the spell requires this…” Shooting Star glanced between the knife and Bill uneasily as Pine Tree checked over his work.

“Hey, Shooting Star, don’t worry! There’s more than one way to skin a cat! Ha!” Bill cackled at his own joke, but Shooting Star just looked sick.

“Okay, let’s just get this over with. Mabel hold him down and I’ll do the cutting.” Shooting Star looked gratefully over at her brother and held Bill down by his shoulders and lower back.

“Yeeesh, don’t look so gloomy kids, you’re just skinning me!” Pine Tree ignored him and picked up the knife.

The first cut along his spine was hesitant, but when Bill didn’t make a sound besides a quick giggle it continued. Bill had to admit that the first cut had tickled a little bit as he was cut from the bottom of his skull to the tip of his tail. The incisions along the first cut were only uncomfortable because he could feel his fur starting to wet with blood.

All tickly feelings and thoughts of uncomfortable fur were washed away though under the agony of Pine Tree digging a few fingers into the wound. He yowled past gritted teeth as Pine Tree gripped his skin and gave it a yank, the skin did not yield under his touch and instead stayed intact.

Once Pine Tree removed his fingers he picked back up the knife and started cutting along Bill’s paws. The tickling sensation was back, but it was faint compared to how on fire his back felt. Pain wasn’t so fun when there was someone trying to pull your skin off.

Pine Tree was apparently satisfied with his new cuts because his fingers went right back to digging under Bill’s skin. This time when he yanked the skin came off and Bill yowled shrilly as tendons and muscle were forcefully separated from his skin.

“Mabel, shut him up! If Stan hears him, he’ll come up here!” Pine Tree hissed under his breath as he sawed the removed skin away from what was still attached to Bill.

Despite the pain Bill could still feel the tears that landed on his head as Shooting Star offered a pair of socks for him to bite on. Just wanting this to be over with, Bill opened his mouth and allowed Shooting Star to shove them in.

Bill must have passed out from the pain at some point because he was floating through the Mindscape like he did when he was dreaming. It was still a strange thing to be floating through his realm and not feel like the master of it. It took far too much concentration for him to change something now that he was attached to this form of flesh.

Then it felt like his body in the mindscape was being stretched before it snapped back into place and the mindscape felt like home. Running his fingers over a grey piece of landscape he watched a flower bloom up and then catch on fire.

If Bill had a mouth it would have split his face with the grin he was feeling. He was back home and it was time to finish everything up and tie it into a neat little bow.

~OwO~

Normally Bill would have trouble getting into a person’s mind while they were still awake, but since the twins had practically thrown their uncle onto the chopping block it was easier. Slipping into Stan’s brain was like a trip through memory lane and he gleefully went through the memories that involved him.

Still, he did have a deal to keep to and he couldn’t play around forever. So, reluctantly he parted from the door he was looking through and drifted back to main part of Stan’s brain. Humming to himself he scouted out the best place to begin, but then a door with memories of the twins caught his eye.

Floating over he peaked inside to see an assortment of happy memories. It was all so lovely and cute how Stan really loved them. He wouldn’t start here, he wanted Stan to remember the ones that he loved when he died. Wanted the old man to struggle at least a little bit.

Floating away to a different section Bill flashed a brighter yellow in recognition of the six-fingered nerd. To think that Stan had been so close thirty years ago to getting his brother back and Shooting Star had pressed the button. It was delightful how much this hall of memories echoed with so much pain.

This was a good place to start the trouble. It would be satisfying for Stan’s troubles to end where they began.

Lighting the fire in his hands, Bill watched the flame dance around his fingers for a few seconds. Then he dropped it onto the doorstep of this hall of memories.

The fire crawled along the floor at first, content to feel out its surroundings. Then an ember flicked out towards a memory door and in seconds the door was consumed. Then another and another as the flames became more bold.

Finally this whole hall of memories of was consumed in flame and Bill watched in delight as the fire reached out with tendrils to looked for more to burn.

Returning to the front of Stan’s mind, Bill took one last look at the chaos inside before exiting. Once he was back in the mindscape he tapped into one of his many eyes around the shack to watch the finale.

The Pines were sitting at the table eating breakfast and joking about going fishing that afternoon. Stan stopped talking and cradled his head in sudden pain. Shooting Star was the first to notice and began asking Stan if he was alright.

Stan tried to reassure her that he was just fine, but then the pain got worse and he cried out as he clutched his skull. Both twins were on their feet now and were standing near their Grunkle and shaking him.

Pine Tree was calling out his name and Shooting Star was constantly asking if he was okay and if he needed anything. There was nothing they could do for him though as he fell sideways onto the floor and began convulsing.

Shooting Star at first screamed then she was shouting orders at Pine Tree to go and retrieve some items. Taking off her sweater she rolled Stan to his side and rubbed his back as he gave out little twitches.

It was far too late for that though because Stan was dead before Pine Tree even returned with the items. When he did return, it was to his sister crying and hugging Stan close as she pleaded for him not to leave them. Pine Tree dropped everything and joined Shooting Star in her crying.

Bill wasn’t sure what they were crying about, they wanted the trouble with Stan gone and they got their way. Humans were so dramatic sometimes.


End file.
